The Georgetown ISD board of trustees received an update on the district’s plan to open its own wellness clinic Aug. 19.

The health clinic, if finalized, would be based in Richarte High School at 2295 N. Austin Ave., Georgetown, and service all GISD staff, students and their families, said Bryan Hallmark, GISD’s assistant superintendent of operations and school leadership.

The district-based wellness clinic has been five years in the making, Hallmark said, adding that if all goes well, a pilot program will be launched in the spring.

The district is looking to partner with Lone Star Circle of Care and provide acute, chronic and preventative care.

“In 2018, we surveyed staff to see if whether or not this was a viable project to look into for Georgetown ISD. … Overwhelmingly staff said they felt like they would use it for acute and preventative care,” Hallmark said.

Hallmark said the clinic would take part of the front office of the school and would have a lab area, two exam rooms and a waiting room. Lone Star Circle of Care would provide the physician or physician’s assistant, and GISD would provide the facility, he said.

By placing the clinic at the entrance of the building, Hallmark said it would still allow the the building to remain safe through its secured entrance but allow for easy accessibility from the public. The clinic would not be open to the public but to anyone affiliated with the district, he said.

Hallmark added the clinic would be open before and after school hours to add convenience so time does not have to be taken out of the school or work day.

“Lots of work … is going into this, and we’re looking forward to updates as we move into the fall,” Hallmark said.

Ali Linan began covering Georgetown for Community Impact Newspaper in 2018. Her reporting focuses on education and Williamson County. Ali hails from El Paso and graduated from Syracuse University in 2017.